Master of Music Therapy Equivalency

Requirements

61 credits

Students are admitted to the Master of Music Therapy Equivalency program by completing a formal application process. The process involves an interview, submission of a song portfolio, and submission of transcripts. Students interview with department faculty on their audition day. The song portfolio should include recordings of prospective students accompanying themselves on piano and/or guitar while singing a minimum of 10 songs. The songs should be from at least 4 genres, e.g., children's songs, R & B, country, folk, sacred, pop, songs of the gaslight era, hip hop, jazz, etc. Faculty review of the song portfolio may result in the addition of piano and/or guitar coursework to the student's curriculum. Prior to graduation, transcripts must include proof of satisfactory completion of behavioral sciences co-requisites. After admission to the program, students will have the opportunity to pass the Equivalency Clinical Musicianship Proficiency Exam. The Equivalency Clinical Musicianship Proficiency Exam may be taken in 1st or 2nd year dependent upon Piano, Voice, and Guitar qualifications. If the student is unable to complete that exam, then they will test with the Guitar and Piano instructors for appropriate placement. In the event they do not test out, the appropriate Group Piano and Group Guitar courses will be included in their curriculum or students have the option of pursuing private lessons and testing out of Group Piano and Group Guitar at a later date.

Degree progress stipulates a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher and "B", "B+" or higher grades in all music therapy (MUTH) courses. Students will be placed on probation should their cumulative grade point average drop below 3.0. Those students placed on probation in this circumstance are required to raise their grade point average to a 3.0 or above within one semester to remain enrolled in the program. Students will be placed on probation when they earn a "B-" or lower grade in completed music therapy courses. Students placed on probation in this circumstance are required to repeat all music therapy courses in which their grade is a "B-" or lower. Students must earn a "B" or higher grade in a repeated music therapy course to remain enrolled in the program. Students may repeat music therapy courses once. As the music therapy program does not offer trailer sections of courses, it is important to note that required course repeats might extend a student's on-campus curriculum beyond the course sequence articulated on their curriculum sheet.

Students will be placed on probation when they earn scores lower than a Level 2 in multiple and/or a key area of Professional Dispositions and Characteristics Rubric. Key areas include Availability to Learning, Oral Communication Skills, Written Communication Skills, Professional Dress, Critical Thinking Skills, Respect for Other, Response to Feedback, and Commitment to Diversity and Equity. Students on probation are not eligible to apply for internships. Eligibility to apply for internship will be reinstated after the student has been removed from probation. Students are required to pass pre-requisite music therapy courses with a minimum of a “B” grade prior to taking subsequent music therapy courses. Waiver of this requirement is at the discretion of the department faculty. 

As a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and grades of "B" or higher in music therapy courses are not necessarily sufficient for successful attainment of an internship, the music therapy program provides students with a proficiency exam to assist them in assessing their progress toward internship. Students are required to pass the Equivalency Proficiency Exam before beginning second year music therapy courses. During this exam, faculty evaluate students' musical, professional, and academic competence (see Music Therapy Student Handbook for further information). The proficiency exam must be passed to remain enrolled in the program.

Students are required to submit four updated clearances to the Music Therapy Department in August of each fall semester. These include TB test results (2-step in the first year of coursework, 1-step each subsequent year of coursework), FBI Criminal Background Check, Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, and Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Check). Federal, state, and institutional requirements for clearances can change with little notice; it is the student's responsibility to meet clearance requirements as notified. Timely submission of clearances is required to remain enrolled in practicum courses. As the music therapy program does not offer trailer sections of practicum courses, it is important to note that disenrollment from a practicum course might extend a student's on-campus curriculum beyond the course sequence articulated on their curriculum sheet.

The successful completion and defense of a capstone project is also necessary for completion of the program.

Students have a 7-year window to obtain the degree. After 7 years, students have the option to appeal for a one-year extension; students can make two such appeals.  

Behavioral Sciences Courses (17 credits)

These courses may be transferred from another institution and are co-requisites*. Official transcripts of completed courses must be submitted to the Master in Music Therapy Equivalency Director prior to approval of application for graduation.

*Cross registration as an undergraduate and master student at Duquesne University is not possible. Students may complete undergraduate courses at institutions of their choosing. 

Program Learning Outcomes

Equivalency

1. Students will demonstrate functional music skills related to voice, piano, guitar, percussion, conducting techniques, and movement.
2. Students will demonstrate basic knowledge related to the clinical foundations of music therapy practice and music therapy practice as set by the American Music Therapy Professional Competencies.
3. Students will demonstrate professional, ethical, and cultural reflexivity in clinical and educational settings.
4. Students will use their music skills, their music therapy knowledge base, reflexivity, supervision, and the scholarly literature to engage in clinical music therapy practice.

Masters

1. Students and graduates will apply philosophical tenets and clinical techniques of humanistic, psychodynamic, and community-engaged practice in diverse healthcare settings.
2. Students and graduates will develop the capacity for cultural reflexivity - including but not limited to effectively assessing the ecological systems that comprise their culture and their patients' cultures - that enables ethical and effective partnering with patients in community-based healthcare settings.
3. Students and graduates will demonstrate expertise in the provision of psychotherapy to diverse patient typologies in community-based and medical healthcare treatment settings.
4. Graduates will develop the capacity for critical analysis of their practice and the healthcare systems they work within. Students will:
   • Identify knowledge deficits in both their clinical practice and the broader literature base
   • Formulate research questions and/or clinical inquiries that can be used to collect and analyze data
   • Systematically evaluate collected data to construct conclusions directly responsive to the formulated research questions
   • Utilize these conclusions to directly inform and shape their practice
   • Share and disseminate conclusions to colleagues in music therapy and closely related fields through scholarly presentations and writings
5. Graduates will be positioned to become leaders in the field and in their respective communities and healthcare systems by assuming one or more of the following roles: clinical supervisors, patient advocates, clinician-researchers, and clinician-educators.

Core Music Therapy Equivalency Courses and Pre-requisites for Each Course

As a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and grades of “B” or higher in music therapy courses are not necessarily sufficient for successful attainment of an internship, the music therapy program provides students with proficiency exams to assist them in assessing their progress toward internship. Students are required to pass an Equivalency Proficiency Exam before beginning second year courses. During these exams, faculty evaluate students’ musical, professional, and academic competence (see Music Therapy Student Handbook for further information).

Graduate Electives

Music Therapy Electives

Interdisciplinary Electives

Registration for MLLS electives is capped at 5 music therapy students per section.

Curriculum

Students complete 29 credits in foundational music therapy courses that include introductory, setting-based, professional topics, practicum and internship courses. Students complete 32 credits in graduate music therapy courses covering music therapy theory, advanced clinical skills, research, musical development and personal growth, and clinical administration.

Music Competencies (12 credits)

Music competencies may be demonstrated through successful completion of the Equivalency Proficiency Exam.

Year 1 - Fall (11 credits)

Year 1 - Spring (9 credits)

Year 1 - Summer (3 credits)

Year 2 - Fall (11 credits)

Year 2 - Spring (10 credits)

Year 2 - Summer

Year 3 - Fall (7 credits)

Year 3 - Spring (10 credits)

¹ Pre-requisites include Introduction to Psychology and Fundamentals of Statistics.

² The Equivalency Proficiency Exam may be taken in first or second year dependent upon piano, voice, and guitar qualifications. Piano, voice, and guitar qualifications may be reached through on-campus group coursework and/or off-campus private instruction.

³ Pre-requisites include passing the Equivalency Proficiency Exam and MT Equivalency Practicum II. 

Clinical Training

Completion of the Masters in Music Therapy Equivalency program requires 1,200 hours of clinical training. This training occurs in pre-internship clinical practica and internship courses.

Pre-internship clinical practica consist of supervised clinical training experiences with at least three different populations. These four courses are taken during the two-year, on-campus curriculum. The student must accrue a minimum of 300 clinical training hours during them.

The internship consists of an in-depth, supervised clinical training experience. It is completed after the on-campus curriculum and prior to graduation. The student must accrue a minimum of 900 clinical training hours during internship. Students apply for an internship site from the institution's roster of affiliated internships or from the national roster of American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) approved internship sites. Students are eligible to apply for internship when they have satisfactorily completed the undergraduate pre-requisite skills, the proficiency exam, and the following coursework:

1. Music Therapy Orientation
2. Music Therapy Equivalency Practicum (150 hours of clinical training)
3. Music Therapy and Physical Health
4. Music Therapy Internship Preparation

and are within two semesters of completing the on-campus Equivalency curricular requirements. The application process requires a Letter of Eligibility from the director of music therapy. After satisfactory completion of the above curricular requirements, failure to progress toward satisfactory completion of the GMTEQ curriculum, including 300 hours of pre-internship clinical practicum and a passed proficiency exam, will result in revocation of Letters of Internship Eligibility. Eligibility to apply for internship will be reinstated after the student has satisfactorily completed the GMTEQ curriculum including 300 hours of practicum.

Students are eligible to attend internship when they have satisfactorily completed the GMTEQ curriculum, including a minimum of 300 hours of pre-internship clinical practica. Students who have applied to internship, been accepted, but not completed the GMTEQ curriculum before an internship start date, including a minimum of 300 hours of pre-internship clinical practica and a passed proficiency exam, will be required to forfeit any internship offers until the work has been completed. Letters of Internship Eligibility will be revoked until completion of the above is documented. Eligibility to apply for internship will be reinstated after the student has satisfactorily completed the GMTEQ curriculum including 300 hours of pre-internship clinical practicum.

Eligibility for and acceptance to internship is not guaranteed. Dissolution of an internship agreement with an internship director on the basis of a student's conduct or state of health will result in disenrollment from the program. Students must complete the internship within two years of completing the on-campus curriculum.

Graduation and Board Certification

Students are eligible to walk at graduation ceremonies when they have completed all degree requirements.

Students are eligible to receive the Master in Music Therapy Equivalency and sit for the Board Certification Examination for Music Therapists upon successful completion of all degree requirements. The board certification examination is designed and administered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT). If the exam is passed, the credential earned is Music Therapist-Board Certified (MT-BC).

Completion of this degree prepares students for advanced competency as a music therapy clinician, supervisor, and educator.